The Dick Spencer case study contains multiple management issues but perhaps the most glaring problem is Dick’s micromanagement approach. This leadership style appears to be having a very negative impact on employee morale. Additionally, Dick’s approach seems to be perpetuating resistance to desired organizational changes. These three problems are not new to organizations, and a great deal of published literature exists that defines, describes and suggests recommendations to help overcome these issues. Some research data echoes other’s findings but others hold interesting points of view, especially with regard to micromanagement. MICROMANAGEMENT

Micromanagement has been defined and described in many ways. In the most simplistic form micromanagement may be viewed as a basic lack of trust (Ward, 2003). Another view explains micromanagement as “an affliction of small-minded, task oriented, visionless leaders (Hanft, 2004).” Others depict micromanagers as “the ones who tell you not only why things need to be done (vision) and what needs to be done (mission), but also the who, how, when and where (Weyande, 1996).” Very often specific behaviors are associated with micromanagers, to including reluctance to delegate, self-insertion into others’ projects, and discouragement of decision-making without leadership consultation. Harry Chambers, author of My Way or the Highway, identified five specific behaviors. According to Chambers (2006), micromanagers like to exercise power and authority, control others’ time, want work to be done their way, allow no one to move forward without approval, and often demand frequent status reports. These behaviors have been likened to symptoms of a disease which can be identified and explained. Some micromanagers defend their behavior based on the belief that they are merely using efficient and necessary oversight that is indispensible for tasks to be accomplished correctly and on time (Presutti, 2006). Others go as far as stating that micromanagers actually save time and money (Weyande, 1996). Meetings to discuss options and suggestions are eliminated because the manager decides what to do. Employee training is reduced because the manager knows how to do everything the correct way. This may indeed be tongue in cheek for most, but for others may be a perception of reality and is just one symptom of the micromanagement disease. Dr. Richard White, a professor at Louisiana State University, described other symptoms that indicate “where good detail management ends and loathsome micromanagement begins (White, 2010).” These symptoms include being obsessed with meaningless details and setting deadlines for deadlines’ sake. Dr. White goes on to state: “At its more severe level, micromanagement is a compulsive, behavioral disorder similar to other addictive patterns…..micromanagers learn to like to control others (White, 2010).” These symptoms can be viewed as warning signs but recognition of the symptoms may occur too late as the negative effects may have already impacted the organization.

Micromanagement can do a great deal of damage to an organization by adversely affecting initiative, productivity, morale and teamwork. Employees feel they do not have any control over their tasks and soon lose motivation. This, in turn, erodes any initiative, as employees will do only what is asked by completing just the assigned work. The lack of delegation combined with the loss of initiative results in employees standing idle awaiting direction. Employees may also lose self-confidence after repeatedly being directed on what and how to perform tasks (Presutti, 2006). Any team autonomy is degraded to the point of nonexistence and teamwork almost completely halts. Employees will usually perceive their relationship with a micromanager as mistrusting, stressful and even adversarial which dampens morale (Presutti, 2006). Ultimately, productivity pays the price and the organization goes...

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...﻿An Analysis of the DickSpencerCase
The career of DickSpencer presented in the assigned case offers several opportunities for the business student to examine principles of management using a realistic example of the modern business environment. This paper undertakes to perform an analysis of Mr. Spencer’s career in order to identify and explore those factors that contributed to his early career success as a sales person as well as those factors that contributed to significant challenges experienced by Mr. Spencer as he transitioned into the operations side of his company’s business and began to progress in his career up through the ranks of middle management. The paper concludes by offering recommendations that could have helped Mr. Spencer be more successful in his various management roles.
DickSpencer joined the Tri-American Corporation as a salesperson upon graduating at the age of 22 with a master’s degree in business administration. Mr. Spencer experienced almost immediate success during his first year with the company, primarily through successfully landing a single, large contract. His success, although not as spectacular, extended into his second and third years with the company and his sales performance remained near the top among his peers. Several of Mr. Spencer’s peers attributed his success during his...

...Leadership in Organizations
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Analysis
How would you evaluate Spencer’s style of leadership?
Dick Spenser was a vice president of Modrow Company, a Canadian branch of the Tri-American Corporation. This was a company involved in the primary aluminum with integrated operations ranging from products.om the mining of bauxite through the processing to fabrication of aluminum into a variety of products. Spencer’s style of leadership was transactional. This is attributed to him wanting the workers to follow his lead without questioning to achieve the set of goals he had put as a manager of Modrow (Chemers, 1997).
Using Fiedler’s theory analyze the situations Spencer faced as Plant Manager at Birmingham and then, at Modrow. What type of leader would Fiedler feel would be best suited for these situations?
Fielder’s theory proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control. When Spenser was working in Birmingham, he found it challenging since it was an old British company owned by Tri-American and the working conditions were not so favorable. The state of the company was amiss. By the cooperation of the personnel which included intensive training by the staff members and redesigning where possible, the company started making profits after many years (Muliins, 2005).
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...OVERVIEW
Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.
Tony Blair
Spencer was a plant manager of Modrow Company, a Canadian Branch of the Tri-American Corporation. Tri-American was a major producer of primary aluminum with integrated operations ranging from mining of bauxite through the processing to fabrication of aluminum into variety of products. The company had also made and sold refractories and industrial chemicals. The parent company had wholly owned subsidiaries in five separate United States locations and had foreign affiliates in fifteen different countries. Tri-American employed approximately 22,000 employees in the total organization. The company was governed by a board of directors. The board set general policy, which was then interpreted and applied by the various plant managers. This decentralization in organizational structure increased the freedom and authority of the plant managers, but increase the pressure for profitability.
Spencer started his career in Tri-American Corporation as salesman and he succeeded. After two years of successful work as salesman, he became the symbol of what salesman have to be. In his career in Tri-American, he had worked as salesman, troubleshooter, assistant plant manager in English branch in London UK, plant manager in...

...DickSpencer
In this caseDickSpencer, a well-known employee of an aluminum producing company worked his way up the ranks from being a successful salesman to a plant manager. However through his transition of roles Dick experienced some pitfalls. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the main contributing factors to Dick’s success as a salesman and the issues he faced as a plant manager and provide informed alternative solutions.
Dick knew the business well which played a vital role in his success as a salesman. Fresh out of college and with a Master’s degree in Business Administration attributed to his knowledge of the business world. According to Foster-Pedley (2013), individuals with a MBA apply their new expertise and fresh talents in their jobs and towards the advancement of the organization. “They use resources better, applying their imagination and creativity more effectively, and dare to transform and make progress” (Foster-Pedley, 2013, p. 13). Individuals who attained a MBA credit their promotion, field change or pay increase to the degree (Ainsworth, 1995). We’ve all heard the adage,” knowledge is power” and Dick certainly had the potential and prevailed as a salesman.
Dick had the ability to sale and according to his coworkers he was personable which amplified his sales ability. Effectively communicating and connecting with...

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Case 1: DickSpencerCase 1: DickSpencer
Introduction:
DickSpencer was an employee of the Tri-American Company who had been with the organization for fourteen years. Starting out as a successful salesman straight out of college, he quickly worked his way up the ladder into different managerial positions. Using several articles for support, thiscase analysis will examine the leading factors with regards to his success as a sales person, as well as the critical issues that led to his failure and tribulations as a manager. Finally this case analysis will provide recommendations with supported evidence on how he could have been a more effective manager. The purpose of this case analysis is to determine why he was effective as a salesperson but lacked the ability to successfully manage and lead people as he transitioned from one position to another.
Analysis of Critical Issues:
Success as a Sales Person
Dick was considered the “boy to watch” by corporate headquarters because of his impressive track record as a salesman. He was liked by his peers, had looks, charisma and a natural ability to socialize which allowed him to be successful in his current position. Dick was also an educated individual. At the young age of 22 he had already graduated from an M.B.A degree which...

...Fall 2012 MGT 585
DickSpencerCase Analysis
Strengths as a Salesman DickSpencer has had an interesting career. He began as a salesman at Tri-American Corporation and quickly worked his way up the corporate ladder to management level. He experienced many achievements and also many roadblocks during that time. This case analysis will examine some of the contributing factors to his successes and failures as well as provide recommendations on how he could have been more successful as a manager. DickSpencer experienced great success very early in his sales career. His outgoing, likable personality could have factored into that success. High levels of openness to experience are associated with curiosity and a willingness to entertain new ideas and experiences (Barrick & Mount, 1991). Those with high levels of openness to experience and motivation will be more likely to utilize their abilities to obtain initial career success than those with low levels of motivation (Rode, Arthaud-Day, Mooney, Near, & Baldwin, 2008). These characteristics helped Dick achieve great things in the beginning of his career. Dick was a force to be reckoned with in the sales department yet his peers still regarded him as a regular guy. Highly outgoing people tend to be warm, positive, and sociable, with a high energy level and therefore tend to be...

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The Case of DickSpencer
The Case of DickSpencer
This case study is about DickSpencer, Vice President of a large manufacturing firm, Tri-American Corporation. He was also a plant manager of Modrow company, the Canadian branch of the corporation. Tri-American is mainly focused on the production of aluminum and other aluminum related operations. The company has wholly-owned subsidiaries in five United States locations as well as foreign affiliates in fifteen different countries.
Tri-American was governed by a board of directors who set policy, which was then applied separately by the various plant managers, including DickSpencer at the Modrow company. The company operates under a decentralized structure where each plant manager has considerable autonomy. This structure encourages a sense of competition among plants within the company; however, it also increased the pressure to perform and increase profitability.
Dick’s Rise to the Top
DickSpencer started his career at the Tri-American Corporation as salesman. As a salesman, Dick excelled and was admired by fellow colleague for his charm and his great success in sales. Dick was well educated in Business Administration and had an MBA from a well-known university. As a salesman, Dick’s charm,...